tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42515122891157967022018-03-05T23:23:37.282-08:00A Home...at last!a couples DIY journey of the heart &amp; the hammerRachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-30004648707286943352013-03-28T08:56:00.000-07:002013-03-28T08:56:48.779-07:00Nursery Completed!Well it sure has been a few months since I have posted again. Yes, I have been a bad blogger!!! For one we have not really been doing too many home improvement projects all we have really been doing is preparing for our baby girl! It seems like its been forever since I have blogged but it has gone by fast. She will be arriving at the end of April!<br /><br />Since this fall we have been going to some awesome consignment sales and gathering up bigger ticket gently used items for a fraction of the cost! I have also had a bunch of baby showers so we are pretty much all set as far as baby gear goes!!<br /><br />I am not sure if you remember what our old <a href="http://ourhomeatlast.blogspot.com/2012/04/guest-bedroom-reveal.html">guest room</a> looked like but here is how it was last spring...<br /><div align="center"><strong>From this:</strong>﻿</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGV7LEeupmM/T56twj8-gKI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZrRrSG0a76s/s1600/053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_49914977="3" height="266" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGV7LEeupmM/T56twj8-gKI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZrRrSG0a76s/s400/053.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"><strong>To This:</strong> </div><div align="center">&nbsp;</div><div align="center">﻿</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuxbeVoDmA/T56v_F4BZwI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Vr4HUpX-Q3k/s1600/IMG_3073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_493628599="4" height="400" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuxbeVoDmA/T56v_F4BZwI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Vr4HUpX-Q3k/s400/IMG_3073.JPG" width="268" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tByTiaokP8/T56wI2sCn2I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Lv1iDpqnD34/s1600/IMG_3075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_49914977="5" height="400" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tByTiaokP8/T56wI2sCn2I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Lv1iDpqnD34/s400/IMG_3075.JPG" width="267" /></a><br /><br />From all the painting we did last year we didn't want to paint her room yet again and were fine with keeping it the oatmeal color. The theme we decided to go with was "Owls and Woodland Friends". So be prepared for an owl overload :) Here is how her room looks now!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Our pup Cooper loves following me every place I go in the house so I kept him in the photo shoot. We know that little Miss Addison and him will be the best of buddies in the future :)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0L-z8RjWsIw/UVRcsmMJaxI/AAAAAAAABIk/Qb7VRdeWLPw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0L-z8RjWsIw/UVRcsmMJaxI/AAAAAAAABIk/Qb7VRdeWLPw/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div align="center">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">The crib we got online from Amazon it is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Victoria-Drop-Convertible-White/dp/B000VX4QI8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1364483468&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=convertible+crib">Graco Victoria Non Drop Side 5 in 1 Convertable Crib</a>. It got pretty high reviews and&nbsp;I just loved the detailing on the back side of it. So it basically breaks down 5 ways. Three of them are mattress height in the crib and then it will turn into a toddler bed and eventually a day bed. You of course need to buy a new mattress for it when it converts to a day bed. The bedding and mobiles were purchased at Babies-r-us and the theme is called <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12113406&amp;fromRegistryNumber=49130196&amp;product_skn=219026">Kids Line Dena Happi Tree 9-Piece Crib Bedding Set</a> .This line also has the <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11271463&amp;fromRegistryNumber=49130196&amp;product_skn=636327">mobile</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11271461&amp;fromRegistryNumber=49130196&amp;product_skn=650575">pink stuffed owl pillow</a> &nbsp;seen below too. The other two <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/penny-and-joy-owl-plush/?pkey=e%7COwl%7C53%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C5&amp;cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-">stuffed owls</a> were bought at Pottery Barn Kids. </div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y2bqIF1XOsc/UVRcuNlbD3I/AAAAAAAABI0/dbi_2Qqpg4M/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y2bqIF1XOsc/UVRcuNlbD3I/AAAAAAAABI0/dbi_2Qqpg4M/s640/3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />These adorable soft blocks were a handmade gift from a crafty friend. I just love them! The best thing about them is when she gets older she can toss them and they won't break anything or hurt mommy :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X54eDMk3OC4/UVRcwUlwZrI/AAAAAAAABJM/LZbh1XMMQnE/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X54eDMk3OC4/UVRcwUlwZrI/AAAAAAAABJM/LZbh1XMMQnE/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Another shot of the crib. The letters I got a Joann's and painted them pink- the hubby then put them up with his new air compressor/nail gun :) He loved that part!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f1HaPOAT0iY/UVRcwjKR2nI/AAAAAAAABJU/nKBInN7EGqE/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f1HaPOAT0iY/UVRcwjKR2nI/AAAAAAAABJU/nKBInN7EGqE/s640/7.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><br />The Owl and porcupine were handmade my another crafty wonderful coworker. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lwdtH3-RbxQ/UVRcxBeIB_I/AAAAAAAABJc/p-Vq0eJ1nt8/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lwdtH3-RbxQ/UVRcxBeIB_I/AAAAAAAABJc/p-Vq0eJ1nt8/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20135300/">four box&nbsp;storage cube</a>&nbsp;we got from Ikea. This coming weekend we plan on putting legs on it and centering it in the middle of the window. Since we have that pesky heat vent to the left we had to come up with a way to lift it off the ground. The owl/tree painting on the left was painted by another crafty co-worker and the little rocking chair below was a gift from a co-worker. It was her rocking chair when she was a little girl :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y0oCHqAbqW8/UVRctq4h1HI/AAAAAAAABIs/84_cFKHVpCk/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y0oCHqAbqW8/UVRctq4h1HI/AAAAAAAABIs/84_cFKHVpCk/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Here we have her <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00067830/">dresser</a> and we also got this at Ikea. Just love how many drawers it has! The <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11271468&amp;fromRegistryNumber=49130196&amp;product_skn=636283">changing pad cover</a> was all part of the Dena Happi Tree line at Babies-R-Us. The rocking chair and glider&nbsp;we found&nbsp;off of Craig's&nbsp;List for an amazing $25!!! I couldn't believe it! We drove all the way out to Tacoma to get it because it was such a smoking deal and the lady&nbsp;hardly used it! The Owl Afghan on the glider&nbsp;was a&nbsp;gift from a co-worker and she found it on Esty! The<a href="http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK1439SLM-Scroll-Stick-MegaPack/dp/B003NGTNFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1364484859&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=Owl+tree+decal"> Owl Tree with Woodland Creatures</a> we found on Amazon. I just absolutely love it! Putting it up was not the&nbsp;easiest though. Since we have a medium/course wall texture.&nbsp;Initially they were not sticking&nbsp;like they should.&nbsp;So we cleaned the wall really well with some TSP and then put the stickers up and got out&nbsp;my handy blow dryer. While&nbsp;Terry rubbed back and forth on the sticker&nbsp;I&nbsp;slowly went over it with the blow dryer and it seemed to do the trick! That tree is for sure&nbsp;stuck on the&nbsp;wall and will not be coming off anytime soon!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Du5mAdax14U/UVRcunwa9MI/AAAAAAAABI8/xtN85TYztDQ/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Du5mAdax14U/UVRcunwa9MI/AAAAAAAABI8/xtN85TYztDQ/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here is a shot of her closet. I tried to get everything organized by month/size. I also have all the blankets, burp cloths, swaddle blankets, sheets and cloth diapers all organized. I figured it was best to have everything as well organized as I could and that is just the way that I am. I am sure it will not last forever and will get messy but it helps being organized :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uKc7LYuvrGg/UVRcv8wPPpI/AAAAAAAABJE/mM_NVUM_D3U/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uKc7LYuvrGg/UVRcv8wPPpI/AAAAAAAABJE/mM_NVUM_D3U/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />So that is her finished room. It took a while to get it all organized and complete. After each baby shower I had, the room was just a disaster explosion of items. It took me a good 3 hours each time to get it all organized again and that included removing tags from clothing and getting it washed. <br /><br /><br />Now we are just patiently waiting her arrival. Currently, I am 35 weeks along. They are talking about inducing me a week early because I have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestational_diabetes">Gestational Diabetes</a>. So she could be here in just 4 short weeks!&nbsp;Everyday that passes&nbsp;she grows more and more and I feel myself getting bigger and bigger. Most of the time I move at the pace of a wounded&nbsp;turtle and she has recently begun to stretch out into my rib cage with her little feet! The heartburn, indigestion and sharp pains are almost constant BUT it is all worth it. We are both very excited to meet her and just fall more in love with her. We are ready!<br /><br />Here is a photo from last week at 34 weeks along!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVZLa-8u2OU/UVRlwLTuFyI/AAAAAAAABJs/1w4u3v44UWE/s1600/34+Weeks..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVZLa-8u2OU/UVRlwLTuFyI/AAAAAAAABJs/1w4u3v44UWE/s400/34+Weeks..jpg" width="157" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-23974661402328004232012-12-12T08:23:00.000-08:002012-12-12T08:23:55.686-08:00Where have I been?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVAKt4Eme0w/UMiuTWOn1XI/AAAAAAAABGE/PTWKw5z-G6c/s1600/question_mark_purple_on_pink_round_sticker-p217365579917281114envb3_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVAKt4Eme0w/UMiuTWOn1XI/AAAAAAAABGE/PTWKw5z-G6c/s200/question_mark_purple_on_pink_round_sticker-p217365579917281114envb3_400.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Not sure if any of you have noticed that my posts have significantly dropped in the last few months. Well, I do have a very good reason for that....and that reason is that I am pregnant! Yes! We found out at the end of August.We wanted to get everything major done on our house and after we did we decided to start trying and it happened right away! So the home improvement projects have come to a stop. We have had a few things done here and there but hired a contractor to do them all. So now that we are expecting. I am not sure where this blog is going to turn. I think it will be more of a family blog and photos of our munchkin etc. I am sure we will still continue to have home improvement projects...we will just not be pounding them out every week non-stop like before!<br /><br />Everyone is always asking how&nbsp;I am feeling. In the beginning I was nauseous in the mornings when&nbsp;I got up and on my way into work. Thankfully my wonderful husband would cook me breakfast and have a glass of OJ ready for me to head into work in the mornings. Surprisingly the OJ helped take away a lot of the nausea for me. That instant sugar rush was just what&nbsp;I needed I guess. Unlike a lot of pregnant people I was not hungry for much. Nothing really sounded good to me and I really struggled with meat. I didn't want anything to do with it. It really had to be cooked in with something and in very small pieces to get me to eat much of it. Something might taste really good to me one night for dinner and the next day the sound of leftovers would make me ill. Thankfully, Terry is really awesome about eating my leftovers and is not picky at all. Gotta love that man! The closer and closer I got to the end of my first trimester the less nauseous I was. Thankfully!!! I did however and still do have to pee what seems like every 5 minutes! Seems like our walks with Cooper have to be cut short a lot because of this...but what can ya do?<br /><br />Now that I have reached my half way point- 20 weeks as of Monday-I am not as picky about eating food and have not got nauseous at all. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I still have had no real cravings. Kind of wish I had something crazy I craved to tell people but nothing yet! Or a funny story about me having Terry run to the grocery store at 2am to get some pickles and peanut butter...but nothing yet. <br /><br />We did find out early in November that we are having a little girl! We are very excited for her upcoming arrival&nbsp;on or around April, 29th. &nbsp;We have also decided on her name and it will be Addison Grace. Thankfully we only argued it out for a week and came to a decision. :)<br /><br />I have also started taking photos of my progress.&nbsp;Here&nbsp;I am at&nbsp;18 weeks along. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAoTvUM4uLQ/UMitnm7SLyI/AAAAAAAABF8/xFySPzGnT2U/s1600/Belly+Shot+18weeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAoTvUM4uLQ/UMitnm7SLyI/AAAAAAAABF8/xFySPzGnT2U/s400/Belly+Shot+18weeks.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am going to continue to try to remember to take photos of my monthly progress. I also hope to add some upcoming projects before Addison arrives. Like I want to redo out bathroom floors, build a head board for our bed and of course redoing the guest bedroom and making it a nursery for Addison. Stay tuned.﻿</div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-86668143181416814062012-11-14T10:41:00.001-08:002012-11-14T10:42:20.996-08:00Our deck is finally fixed!Our lovely dog Cooper...he is still in his puppy stage. He just turned one year old this month...but he still loves to chew and destroy things. He thinks that everything is his to chew on! We are trying to break this habit because it is now costing us a lot of money. Before we had a carpeted deck. We liked it and it was nice to be able to go out there and vacuum it off. Yes, it was old school and a little grampa-ish but we had no plans of changing it in the near future. See below:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kpRWXL5edTk/UKPhvcyCI2I/AAAAAAAABEI/BAo3iurMjas/s1600/4-21-12+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kpRWXL5edTk/UKPhvcyCI2I/AAAAAAAABEI/BAo3iurMjas/s640/4-21-12+027.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />Well last month Terry was packing up for a work trip and he put Cooper out on the deck. Well Cooper saw him packing up and normally we bring Cooper with us where ever we go. Well Terry left for his work trip around noon that day. I come home from work around 4pm and Cooper has decided to tear all of the indoor out door carpet off the deck in front of the screen door all the way back to the furniture....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYgTRTBjURw/UKPiccY8WVI/AAAAAAAABEY/MoEpo6u3k1U/s1600/IMG_20121012_175202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYgTRTBjURw/UKPiccY8WVI/AAAAAAAABEY/MoEpo6u3k1U/s640/IMG_20121012_175202.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As you can see Cooper completely destroyed the carpet and even though he looks sad and remorseful in this photo he sure was HAPPY to have me come home and find this mess...I on the other hand was NOT happy. In fact I was furious! But since we didn't catch him doing it their was&nbsp;not much&nbsp;we could do about scolding him for it- since it would do no good. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We did lots of research on what we should do to fix it. We could of spend around $50 and got more indoor/outdoor carpet just to have him destroy it again. We also thought about getting a paint on sealant product but thought that the deck would not be able to breath underneath&nbsp;and it also takes days to dry in warm weather...which we don't get in Seattle in November. So after a weekly trip to Costco we came across these 12x12 deck tiles that just lock into each other. They were certainly not cheap ($400)&nbsp;but we thought they were the easiest to install and would allow the deck to breath and we figured that Cooper would not be able to destroy them since they are made out of this synthetic hard plastic material. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So Terry ripped off the old indoor/outdoor carpet and then pulled up all the old (somewhat moldy) plywood off the deck and we were glad that we&nbsp;found a pretty decent wood deck below. We were able to put the tiles right over the wood deck. We are really&nbsp;happy with the new more modern look of our new deck. Its unfortunate that we had to spend so much to get it fixed but in the end it does look a lot better. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiL5y0QpuBc/UKPk1wT9vqI/AAAAAAAABE0/XbO01r45QCU/s1600/Deck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiL5y0QpuBc/UKPk1wT9vqI/AAAAAAAABE0/XbO01r45QCU/s640/Deck.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">﻿</div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-72172611279255547672012-11-08T09:45:00.000-08:002012-11-14T10:18:39.625-08:00A little fixin'We have not been at all fond of our big black microwave above our stove. One because its black and doesn't match the rest of the white appliances we have in our kitchen and two because the cabinets were not installed with a built in microwave in mind. I think it was originally set up to have just an oven vent there. So it drove us nutz-o trying to cook but not really being able to see the stove controls in the back. Plus the microwave was totally old and crusty and didn't even suck up the exhaust&nbsp;when we were cooking! Shown below is our old microwave and cabinet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4TVKAhXUNwM/UJvoMzNZVfI/AAAAAAAABCQ/Ksy0p2WmLwk/s1600/012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4TVKAhXUNwM/UJvoMzNZVfI/AAAAAAAABCQ/Ksy0p2WmLwk/s640/012.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gQpMW2oapEo/UJvoPdsRcSI/AAAAAAAABCY/Cs-mphPfVec/s1600/013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gQpMW2oapEo/UJvoPdsRcSI/AAAAAAAABCY/Cs-mphPfVec/s640/013.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br />So in August we decided to do something about this! We purchased a new white microwave and after talking&nbsp;with our trusted handy man friend- Randy! He told us to buy a new shorter cabinet for above the stove and he would help us install it all. So we did!&nbsp;It took a few months for our schedules to align but when they did Terry and Randy were able to pound this out in one&nbsp;Saturday afternoon!&nbsp;I was SOOOOO happy to finally have this done and to FINALLY be able to see the controls on the stove and to be able to cook and have it feel like normal with out a big hunky microwave hanging down in your face. You couldn't even tell that we had taken out the old cabinet and installed a new one in there. It is perfecto! Plus the kitchen looks bigger to me know that you don't have this HUGE black box sticking out of the cabinets! Here is how it looks now!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2braOv4wcQ/UJvpC_6enAI/AAAAAAAABCg/0LQXJuTTdEs/s1600/IMG_20121107_165826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2braOv4wcQ/UJvpC_6enAI/AAAAAAAABCg/0LQXJuTTdEs/s640/IMG_20121107_165826.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JqaiUDT0rHY/UKPgb7oCgsI/AAAAAAAABD8/zUtcD_9-4xo/s1600/IMG_20121107_165844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JqaiUDT0rHY/UKPgb7oCgsI/AAAAAAAABD8/zUtcD_9-4xo/s640/IMG_20121107_165844.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Another amazing thing about this microwave it it has a HUGE amount of suction. It even has a turbo speed for the fan!!! Sucks all the heat and steam right up! Also the other thing&nbsp;I am completely shocked about is when you turn the microwave on to reheat something you cant even hear it running!!!! It is so quiet! I had to ask Terry if it was working right. I just love my new microwave and the space we gained above the stove. I am one happy chica!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-20674876853193803262012-09-24T13:29:00.000-07:002012-09-24T13:35:09.513-07:00Our Anna's HummingbirdsEver since we bought our house last October&nbsp;we have noticed a family of hummingbirds living around our yard and greenbelt. After doing some research we found out they are called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna's_Hummingbird">Anna's Hummingbirds</a>. They do not fly south in the winter months and actually stay and live here all year long. We have spent countless days and evenings watching these little guys. I am not sure exactly how many we have living in our greenbelt but&nbsp;I am pretty sure its about 4-8. All day long the make their little screeching grinding sounds and dive bomb each other....and sometimes myself. <br /><br />Recently we recently&nbsp;purchased an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KDXQKG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00">automatic wireless remote shutter release</a> for my SLR camera and set it up on my tripod to get some good shots of the humming birds. I absolutely love this automatic shutter release. It will trigger the shutter up to 100 feet away. So its great for shots like this and say family portraits. Much easier than hitting the&nbsp;auto timer button on your camera then running back to make the shot in time.<br /><br />Here are the shots we got on Saturday evening of a few of our hummingbirds.&nbsp;From the looks of them I believe that most of these are&nbsp;females. The males are really bright and colorful their entire head is colored. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j7KFgXfDJzM/UGDANS626dI/AAAAAAAABAw/hn3rQKLVnsM/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j7KFgXfDJzM/UGDANS626dI/AAAAAAAABAw/hn3rQKLVnsM/s640/050.JPG" width="454" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XyqtOhoOaGg/UGDAPxUFkbI/AAAAAAAABBQ/_1d5_OKvwVQ/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XyqtOhoOaGg/UGDAPxUFkbI/AAAAAAAABBQ/_1d5_OKvwVQ/s640/056.JPG" width="460" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fP9fTYPsAR4/UGDAPVpxl3I/AAAAAAAABBI/kQtam2Yus-g/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fP9fTYPsAR4/UGDAPVpxl3I/AAAAAAAABBI/kQtam2Yus-g/s640/055.JPG" width="458" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sqfVEUG3NTY/UGDAMS80y6I/AAAAAAAABAo/hPIb_wiX6-4/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sqfVEUG3NTY/UGDAMS80y6I/AAAAAAAABAo/hPIb_wiX6-4/s640/049.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zCVcnOUMLPs/UGDAN-kN1EI/AAAAAAAABA4/a46YO2d4-uc/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zCVcnOUMLPs/UGDAN-kN1EI/AAAAAAAABA4/a46YO2d4-uc/s640/053.JPG" width="454" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-56004670135769384722012-08-16T13:25:00.000-07:002012-08-16T13:26:08.984-07:00DIY Stepping Stones<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A while back I saw a cool idea on Pinterest on making your own step stones. I quickly read through it (aka-looked at the photos) and sent it onto the hubby and told him I wanted to do this at some point. So while we were rebuilding our fence a few weeks back Terry remembered that I wanted to do this and purchased an extra Sonotube to use as our mold.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BhYw9tGRW3g/UC1QWK0FRMI/AAAAAAAAA94/7QAlquUloXM/s1600/sonotube1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BhYw9tGRW3g/UC1QWK0FRMI/AAAAAAAAA94/7QAlquUloXM/s320/sonotube1.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><img height="270" id="il_fi" src="http://www.diychatroom.com/attachments/f19/20222d1273185926-how-replace-posts-before-concrete-poured-sonotube.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="320" />﻿</div>&nbsp;In case you have no clue what a Sonotube is, they use them for putting concrete into for fence posts and such. Anyways, he cut out some rings from it with a saw to make them perfect for little stepping stones.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HRW2aXQdwdA/UC1QpcRK9HI/AAAAAAAAA-A/-BHqbEnKbDU/s1600/8-4-12+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HRW2aXQdwdA/UC1QpcRK9HI/AAAAAAAAA-A/-BHqbEnKbDU/s640/8-4-12+013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We laid out some tarp because I really didn't want to slop any concrete on the grass or patio. Then put a layer of garbage bags over the rings.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OxmA4sOXvX4/UC1Qr9kJFFI/AAAAAAAAA-I/oe_a90yN5XM/s1600/8-4-12+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OxmA4sOXvX4/UC1Qr9kJFFI/AAAAAAAAA-I/oe_a90yN5XM/s640/8-4-12+014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;I had to add some stones to make them all pretty and special. Then we added&nbsp;the concrete...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXyPLny_gao/UC1Qu-qZhnI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/4MhzHO81DWM/s1600/8-4-12+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eXyPLny_gao/UC1Qu-qZhnI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/4MhzHO81DWM/s640/8-4-12+015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />....but since&nbsp;I didn't read the directions from pinterest and was just wingin' it....they didn't turn out right. The weight of the concrete sucked the stones into the mold.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C9ruV1aSc00/UC1Qwm9HnGI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/R6GULYeUtpM/s1600/8-4-12+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C9ruV1aSc00/UC1Qwm9HnGI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/R6GULYeUtpM/s640/8-4-12+023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Good thing we only did one tester because I forgot the part where you don't put the stones on the bottom first. You first pour the concrete into the mold... then wait about 20-30 minutes (depending on how runny your concrete is) then place the stones on TOP! At that point you can do fun&nbsp;little hand prints...or dog prints like we did. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fSq-IhdSzBc/UC1VvKNCxkI/AAAAAAAAA_o/K7aqdDaqQPQ/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fSq-IhdSzBc/UC1VvKNCxkI/AAAAAAAAA_o/K7aqdDaqQPQ/s640/Picture1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Here they are dried and placed in our walk way.&nbsp;It takes about 24 hours for them to cure out so you can step on them. They are a bit smaller than I wanted but they get the job done! I just need to make about 6 more and they will go all the way to the gate. <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1Lzbi-oFDY/UC1S-8HQkOI/AAAAAAAAA-0/bWZ4DFVglfM/s1600/IMG_20120815_1956255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x1Lzbi-oFDY/UC1S-8HQkOI/AAAAAAAAA-0/bWZ4DFVglfM/s640/IMG_20120815_1956255.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-92154155395717880702012-08-10T07:57:00.002-07:002012-08-10T07:57:51.663-07:00A new Cozy Couch and Couch Confusion!Recently we have been looking around for a sectional couch for our family room. In the past it was always harder when we had guests over&nbsp;with our old set up because it we really only had room for&nbsp;four people on the furniture. One in the chair and three&nbsp;tightly fit on the couch. Then we would have to bring out&nbsp;folding chairs or bar stools etc.&nbsp;And the other thing we didn't like is you couldn't cuddle side by side and watch a movie on our old couch!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RI5_lMl6tTc/UCUZnAaEGJI/AAAAAAAAA8I/HaRDmlEmU0w/s1600/June+14,+2012+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RI5_lMl6tTc/UCUZnAaEGJI/AAAAAAAAA8I/HaRDmlEmU0w/s640/June+14,+2012+025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />So the other day our wonderful Costco had a ton of furniture in and we found the perfect couch for our family room. It came in three HUGE boxes and we loaded up two of the boxes&nbsp;in our old grandpa truck and the other fit in our car. It was quite hilarious leaving Costco and going up the huge hill to our house. Our truck looked like that Volkeswagon in from the IKEA commercial...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CgWTlvyRsnU/UCUb49YjOdI/AAAAAAAAA8k/26XwjwPGzek/s1600/beetle%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CgWTlvyRsnU/UCUb49YjOdI/AAAAAAAAA8k/26XwjwPGzek/s400/beetle%5B1%5D.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><br />but we did&nbsp;make it home just fine, unpacked it and&nbsp;here is how it looks now!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G2X01FaPvkM/UCUaBQAYA0I/AAAAAAAAA8Q/ktdAd35_JPY/s1600/8-4-12+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G2X01FaPvkM/UCUaBQAYA0I/AAAAAAAAA8Q/ktdAd35_JPY/s640/8-4-12+003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPUNWB0NjII/UCUaEaEO8OI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/gQlNZYOcVYo/s1600/8-4-12+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPUNWB0NjII/UCUaEaEO8OI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/gQlNZYOcVYo/s640/8-4-12+004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We ended up getting a seven piece sectional. Its soooo wonderful we can move the two ottomans around and push them all&nbsp;together to make this huge cuddle like bed. It&nbsp;will&nbsp;be great for over night guests too.&nbsp;We love that we have room for a bunch of people now! The cool thing is that all the pieces can unhook and you can move the couch around in like 15 different positions. (Which is good for my OCD self since I am always rearranging things).<br /><br />So after we got this new furniture we had to find places for our old furniture. We decided to move it into our living room area...and make it more guest seating friendly as well. BUT&nbsp;for the last few weeks its been driving me nuts. It was not fitting right and the room felt sooo small! Here is how the room looked before. It was open and didn't feel cluttered. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7u98EC2-MM/T0Pl1XpMz4I/AAAAAAAAAQA/fVVDsUivuLA/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r7u98EC2-MM/T0Pl1XpMz4I/AAAAAAAAAQA/fVVDsUivuLA/s640/006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here is how it looked after we moved the couch over. Sorry for the bad photos they were taken with my phone! It also doesn help&nbsp;I had all the blinds closed to keep out the heat last weekend too! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eM2rGihmAMY/UCUdkqtzSxI/AAAAAAAAA8s/vj5M7q0jdCg/s1600/8-4-12+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eM2rGihmAMY/UCUdkqtzSxI/AAAAAAAAA8s/vj5M7q0jdCg/s640/8-4-12+005.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The little wing wall at the entry way was driving me crazy and having that extra love seat there. It really just closed off the room too much. Then my couch covers were driving me nutzo too. I like that all the furniture is a close match but it just felt cramped. So last night I ended up moving the couch further into the living room and pushing the love seats in closer to the window and ripped off my couch covers to make it look like this.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZLTpybRA0k/UCUeKCT79rI/AAAAAAAAA80/xgs38u_L1XE/s1600/IMG_20120809_174852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ZLTpybRA0k/UCUeKCT79rI/AAAAAAAAA80/xgs38u_L1XE/s640/IMG_20120809_174852.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yiaBnQVOAvU/UCUeLtK4jKI/AAAAAAAAA88/wa2PQC_jm0U/s1600/IMG_20120809_174925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yiaBnQVOAvU/UCUeLtK4jKI/AAAAAAAAA88/wa2PQC_jm0U/s640/IMG_20120809_174925.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FgNZaJV1Qc/UCUeNL4ZH9I/AAAAAAAAA9E/zTIcs1x0kG0/s1600/IMG_20120809_174946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FgNZaJV1Qc/UCUeNL4ZH9I/AAAAAAAAA9E/zTIcs1x0kG0/s640/IMG_20120809_174946.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />It does feel more open and&nbsp;I do feel a little better about it but it doesn't flow quite right to me. I think what I am going to have to do is get rid of the love seat closest to the front door&nbsp;and move our reclining brown chair (use to be in the family room, now in our guest bedroom) into that position. It will for sure open up the area so much more and hopefully complete the room and we will still have adequate room for lots of people to sit in this room as well. <br /><br />What do you think? Am I crazy or does this not look right? If anyone has any other&nbsp;ideas or suggestions please let me know. :)<br /><br />Other than figuring out the living room furniture we sure have been enjoying our new family room furniture and are very happy that we got it. Now we just need to start inviting people over now that we can entertain more easily.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-52077430260461011792012-08-06T09:14:00.000-07:002012-08-06T09:14:35.107-07:00Our New Vinyl FenceOur side fence was in desperate need of repair and looked like this! You cant see it from the photo but it was leaning into our yard and about to fall over. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hQWBIcp0RgU/UB_nujoOcGI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/QpdD40feX2M/s1600/8-4-12+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hQWBIcp0RgU/UB_nujoOcGI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/QpdD40feX2M/s640/8-4-12+007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />Over the&nbsp;past month we have been doing research on&nbsp;who had the best deal on vinyl fencing and our lovely&nbsp;local&nbsp;Costco&nbsp;won! We were able to get a box of 3 panels for $199 a box and each box covered about 24' and needed&nbsp;two to get the entire fence done.&nbsp;&nbsp;So our crazy behinds ended up scheduling our fence rebuild with our neighbor on the hottest weekend of the summer. We took off Friday from work and were done by Sunday morning. It was so hot that we were only able to work in the mornings and evenings! I felt so bad for Terry. He had sweat pouring off of him! He is such a hard worker. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w7lKRh54co/UB_pZPaqUWI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/3zc2rl5zkt0/s1600/8-4-12+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1w7lKRh54co/UB_pZPaqUWI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/3zc2rl5zkt0/s640/8-4-12+010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The old fence was so rotten that it only took about 20 minutes to get all of the old wood panels down. The pressure treated posts that were cemented into the ground we just kicked over. It indeed was time for a new fence!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8Ze14no4L0/UB_qKJp76GI/AAAAAAAAA6g/2IFFZzgm3Ps/s1600/8-4-12+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8Ze14no4L0/UB_qKJp76GI/AAAAAAAAA6g/2IFFZzgm3Ps/s640/8-4-12+016.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The reason it took us almost 3 days to complete is becuase you had to set each post in concreate and let it dry for 6 hours before you set your next post. Thankfully the heat was on our side for that process and we were able to set 3 posts in the first day. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdtufu3k-Cc/UB_qT4rxoXI/AAAAAAAAA6s/6jRUFmtrzOI/s1600/8-4-12+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kdtufu3k-Cc/UB_qT4rxoXI/AAAAAAAAA6s/6jRUFmtrzOI/s640/8-4-12+017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Each hole had to be dug down 30". We had tons of left over dirt to fill in all the holes Cooper digs in our yard looking for moles :) <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kpCxrK4XvYM/UB_qXG-nE1I/AAAAAAAAA60/uBQheKVOtdg/s1600/8-4-12+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kpCxrK4XvYM/UB_qXG-nE1I/AAAAAAAAA60/uBQheKVOtdg/s640/8-4-12+018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Progress:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x6FrrMZnf4M/UB_qZ-AuG9I/AAAAAAAAA68/v7nOxPbjeu0/s1600/8-4-12+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x6FrrMZnf4M/UB_qZ-AuG9I/AAAAAAAAA68/v7nOxPbjeu0/s640/8-4-12+025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zNkKkJ0XBHI/UB_qds8elcI/AAAAAAAAA7E/UmN-SM8bB8A/s1600/8-4-12+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zNkKkJ0XBHI/UB_qds8elcI/AAAAAAAAA7E/UmN-SM8bB8A/s640/8-4-12+027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />And finally on Sunday morning we were able to put in the final panels and this is the final product!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cDN2CzSWhfo/UB_qhNYk2NI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/KSjm3csrptU/s1600/8-4-12+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cDN2CzSWhfo/UB_qhNYk2NI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/KSjm3csrptU/s640/8-4-12+030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHwDcxSTesU/UB_qkrbr6HI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/s1P_B9a5kv8/s1600/8-4-12+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RHwDcxSTesU/UB_qkrbr6HI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/s1P_B9a5kv8/s640/8-4-12+031.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We are so happy with our new fence! It just looks SO much better and cleaner. We are happy that we dont really have to do a bunch of maintence like a wood fence. We dont have to paint or stain it. Just maybe pressure wash it every few years and it will last a very very long time! We are very happy with it!<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-24840624015541228472012-07-17T14:20:00.000-07:002012-08-06T08:46:22.310-07:00Greenbelt...green fence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We have been going back and forth on whether or not we wanted to tear down our 4ft chain link fence and rebuild it with a 6ft vinyl fence. Since later on this month we will be replacing one of our side fences with vinyl and it would be nice to have it matching.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOU6jjFt5pw/UAXSi8A2JaI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/R_sTDwoMVLU/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOU6jjFt5pw/UAXSi8A2JaI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/R_sTDwoMVLU/s640/021.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />After looking at the cost to rebuild the fence ($900+) and the amount of labor it would involve (digging out old cement posts, and redoing them all also working around rock wall) we decided to just go with the green privacy slats ($360). The other thing we didn't like was the rust on top of the fence. So we cleaned it all up and added some rust stopping spray paint then a coat of silver spray paint to the bar. So it would look nice and new!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-umvBrsJNN4Y/UAXTg4LxpCI/AAAAAAAAA3k/gGqp_UHXUZU/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-umvBrsJNN4Y/UAXTg4LxpCI/AAAAAAAAA3k/gGqp_UHXUZU/s640/027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The greenbelt is just awesome in the summer time. Everything is blooming and its so lush and pretty but in the winter it doesn't look as glorious. So we figured adding in the green privacy slats would help make it look nicer all year long. This project took us most of the afternoon on Sunday and was really easy to do. We are loving the new look. The yard and fence look much cleaner. Here is our new green fence! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bdq1hGiTk0/UAXT-pTZWBI/AAAAAAAAA3s/kcKhYs4KEt4/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bdq1hGiTk0/UAXT-pTZWBI/AAAAAAAAA3s/kcKhYs4KEt4/s640/032.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XBWGm3zTOs/UAXW0vHqomI/AAAAAAAAA4U/nSDSV-tWB_U/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XBWGm3zTOs/UAXW0vHqomI/AAAAAAAAA4U/nSDSV-tWB_U/s640/030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-loaxhHG3jWs/UAXUC5r8zQI/AAAAAAAAA30/JWPHJsz6tYo/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-loaxhHG3jWs/UAXUC5r8zQI/AAAAAAAAA30/JWPHJsz6tYo/s640/031.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Up next on our project list is to replace this fence! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9OjTXroE4KU/UAXVWgjfanI/AAAAAAAAA4A/-LnG40NCelE/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9OjTXroE4KU/UAXVWgjfanI/AAAAAAAAA4A/-LnG40NCelE/s640/Picture1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />We got some nice vinyl fencing from Costco the other day and will be starting that project here soon! Did I say that we were going to relax for the rest of the summer?? ha ha yeah right ;)<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-15946794549222616202012-06-27T08:25:00.003-07:002012-06-27T08:26:34.681-07:00Dull to Delightful!So I am so happy to say that we are finally finished with not only the interior painting of our home but now the exterior and we could not be happier with the transformation. It is incredible how much a little yard work and some paint can transform your house and really add major curb appeal. <br /><br />Now for the photos!<br /><br /><strong>Our&nbsp;home&nbsp;when we purchased it in October 2011:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5oJjG2cAiAw/T-sYlCaUpdI/AAAAAAAAAxA/CA2l8H-wQh8/s1600/Need+a+Match+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5oJjG2cAiAw/T-sYlCaUpdI/AAAAAAAAAxA/CA2l8H-wQh8/s640/Need+a+Match+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>Here is our newly painted home now!!!</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-lexUjiceI/T-sYouz4Y2I/AAAAAAAAAxI/6lYIEuSnFWI/s1600/June+14,+2012+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-lexUjiceI/T-sYouz4Y2I/AAAAAAAAAxI/6lYIEuSnFWI/s640/June+14,+2012+001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Does it look a little different? Just a bit! &nbsp;Hopefully in a good way :) Here are just a few of the changes we made to the front of the house over the last few weeks! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DcBuBIh3tpU/T-set_iczmI/AAAAAAAAAxY/tc2lAGSi1pw/s1600/What+we+did.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DcBuBIh3tpU/T-set_iczmI/AAAAAAAAAxY/tc2lAGSi1pw/s640/What+we+did.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>Our previous entryway- October 2011</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFEj_OERSI4/T-sfT9e_FAI/AAAAAAAAAxg/ZUunzZPwj74/s1600/Need+a+Match+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFEj_OERSI4/T-sfT9e_FAI/AAAAAAAAAxg/ZUunzZPwj74/s640/Need+a+Match+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>Entryway now:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x6SnCrICxUQ/T-sfa5oBceI/AAAAAAAAAxo/lknJWXhCc7g/s1600/June+14,+2012+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x6SnCrICxUQ/T-sfa5oBceI/AAAAAAAAAxo/lknJWXhCc7g/s640/June+14,+2012+016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>Back of our house before:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_B-vt4wP_cM/T-sgerFLCEI/AAAAAAAAAxw/0cjzIOoYciw/s1600/2-27-12+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_B-vt4wP_cM/T-sgerFLCEI/AAAAAAAAAxw/0cjzIOoYciw/s640/2-27-12+(5).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>And her it is now</strong>- LOVE the windows trimmed out it makes it look so much bigger!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w5b3S6z-NDo/T-sgr0lUW-I/AAAAAAAAAx8/3WFxCcJzyeo/s1600/June+14%252C+2012+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w5b3S6z-NDo/T-sgr0lUW-I/AAAAAAAAAx8/3WFxCcJzyeo/s640/June+14%252C+2012+009.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NB_9qG9bIOY/T-sguPsrQdI/AAAAAAAAAyE/AaxDR0sHgE8/s1600/June+14%252C+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NB_9qG9bIOY/T-sguPsrQdI/AAAAAAAAAyE/AaxDR0sHgE8/s640/June+14%252C+2012+011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VCke6gJ6fkk/T-sgwKr-SbI/AAAAAAAAAyM/-fNE9X9EDoc/s1600/June+14%252C+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VCke6gJ6fkk/T-sgwKr-SbI/AAAAAAAAAyM/-fNE9X9EDoc/s640/June+14%252C+2012+014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><strong>Side of house before:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G02MFFfxt2Y/T-siKyIR_YI/AAAAAAAAAyg/VKOJmGaEAKI/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G02MFFfxt2Y/T-siKyIR_YI/AAAAAAAAAyg/VKOJmGaEAKI/s640/010.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><strong>&nbsp;And now:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Adf8qDpeytk/T-siSmvu3qI/AAAAAAAAAyo/Q4Hsn--fHuE/s1600/June+14,+2012+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Adf8qDpeytk/T-siSmvu3qI/AAAAAAAAAyo/Q4Hsn--fHuE/s640/June+14,+2012+038.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><strong>Other Side before:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H--GkidV-zA/T-sir79-_jI/AAAAAAAAAyw/AhHZPKTNhvo/s1600/4-18-12+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H--GkidV-zA/T-sir79-_jI/AAAAAAAAAyw/AhHZPKTNhvo/s640/4-18-12+002.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><strong>and after:</strong><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IDKA7UUVcNI/T-sitYNICdI/AAAAAAAAAy4/s1jl26qmGYc/s1600/June+14,+2012+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IDKA7UUVcNI/T-sitYNICdI/AAAAAAAAAy4/s1jl26qmGYc/s640/June+14,+2012+015.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />Terry and could not be happier about the new paint job on our house. It really does make it stand out in the neighborhood now and you actually notice it when you drive through. We are just so pleased with the new look. If anyone is interested our painter used Sherwin Williams Duration paint and the main blue color is called <a href="http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/66309_Sherwin-Williams-SW6243-Distance">Distance- SW6243</a> and and the trim is called <a href="http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/66055_Sherwin-Williams-SW0050-Classic-Light-Buff">Classic&nbsp;Light Buff- SW0050</a>. <br /><br />Now its time for some much needed R&amp;R! I think we will spend the rest of our summer kicking back out on our porch enjoying a few bottels of wine and hopefully some warmer weather!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-48220771434223773022012-06-19T09:56:00.003-07:002012-06-19T09:56:45.420-07:00The exterior house painting has finally begun!W have been waiting all month to get nice weather so we could get the exterior of our home painted...and have not really had any but on Friday last week they were able to paint the body color on the entire house. I came home from work and was just SHOCKED at the&nbsp;transformation that was made to our home.&nbsp;They still have the trim to paint it looks amazing. Now I am just hoping that we have a dry day this week so they can paint the trim before our open house party this Saturday. They also have one more window to trim out. Here is a shot of the windows trimmed out. This is before the new paint job was done. The trim will eventually be painted an off white color. I was just shocked how much this adds to the house. It makes the windows look so much better and bigger. I am very excited to see it all completed. Hopefully next week I will reveal our freshly painted house!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zezmgc19ENQ/T-CrlwaECUI/AAAAAAAAAws/mc6YJpC1P5g/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zezmgc19ENQ/T-CrlwaECUI/AAAAAAAAAws/mc6YJpC1P5g/s640/003.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Terry and I are just thrilled at the fact that we do not have any other painting projects planned for our house. At this point we are totally and completely painted out. Yes, we have accomplished a TON and transformed our house into a home of our own in just 7 short months! We&nbsp;would probably do it all over again (maybe not&nbsp;as quickly)&nbsp;but it feels so good to not have to be cleaning, taping &amp; painting. Then getting paint all over our clothes, hair, skin. We are&nbsp;looking forward to&nbsp;not having&nbsp;to clean another paint brush, bucket or roller for a very long time to come! Looking forward to relaxing the rest of the summer and enjoying our house!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cheers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-52524781909401867342012-06-15T08:27:00.000-07:002012-06-15T08:28:19.486-07:00My thrifty June makeoverI have been on the hunt over the past few months for some new bar stools in our kitchen. The ones we inherited with the house&nbsp;I was not too fond of. They were&nbsp;very heavy and I&nbsp;didn't like the way they looked. See below shot of our old bar stools:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m-ONe6UkXUA/T9tRmtDH5XI/AAAAAAAAAv0/FI2BnrvjVHg/s1600/May+2012+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m-ONe6UkXUA/T9tRmtDH5XI/AAAAAAAAAv0/FI2BnrvjVHg/s640/May+2012+045.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br />So last month I headed over to Habitat for Humanity and found these wonderful bar stools that would look fabulous in our newly painted kitchen. They were only $12 a piece and all they needed was some cleaning and a fresh coat of paint!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uy4R6eJeN9A/T9tSJawrb7I/AAAAAAAAAv8/VHT8ZdMV2Dk/s1600/June+9,+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uy4R6eJeN9A/T9tSJawrb7I/AAAAAAAAAv8/VHT8ZdMV2Dk/s640/June+9,+2012+004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2gV5B1F0btA/T9tSKkg5vEI/AAAAAAAAAwE/2hvjqe8Pp1E/s1600/June+9,+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2gV5B1F0btA/T9tSKkg5vEI/AAAAAAAAAwE/2hvjqe8Pp1E/s640/June+9,+2012+005.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><br />Last Sunday I scrubbed and sanded them down and added a new coat of white paint and this is how they now look&nbsp;in our kitchen. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RjUkFTqTqcE/T9tS_T1ZhBI/AAAAAAAAAwM/7Ly2xrHtO6c/s1600/June+9,+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RjUkFTqTqcE/T9tS_T1ZhBI/AAAAAAAAAwM/7Ly2xrHtO6c/s640/June+9,+2012+006.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATdMmnrg4r4/T9tTBTl3xSI/AAAAAAAAAwU/6WVYQBIyeOo/s1600/June+9,+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ATdMmnrg4r4/T9tTBTl3xSI/AAAAAAAAAwU/6WVYQBIyeOo/s640/June+9,+2012+007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9ROTxrqga9I/T9tTC2l6EPI/AAAAAAAAAwc/flbIIyakn5o/s1600/June+9,+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9ROTxrqga9I/T9tTC2l6EPI/AAAAAAAAAwc/flbIIyakn5o/s640/June+9,+2012+008.JPG" width="446" /></a></div><br />Someday I have visions of painting the seat and back slats a red color to add a bit more red hints to our&nbsp;our kitchen...but for now I am totally and completely painted out and am looking forward to taking a break!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-26966729208664790742012-06-14T08:22:00.000-07:002012-06-15T08:28:02.935-07:00From Purple Dragon to Dragon Slayer!Remember when&nbsp;I first started this blog and we first started redoing our home...we started in the back in our master bedroom. I really wanted a purple bedroom <a href="http://ourhomeatlast.blogspot.com/2011/11/welcome-purple-dragon.html">(See this post)</a>&nbsp;and I got one! (See below photo) I liked it and it was OK for a while...but then I started to kind of feel like it was a kids room. So our plan was to paint it something different after we finished everything else in our house. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Cg3znTVN_E/T9n7kYK9sJI/AAAAAAAAAu8/Ye_AB8XjIxs/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Cg3znTVN_E/T9n7kYK9sJI/AAAAAAAAAu8/Ye_AB8XjIxs/s640/003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />So this past weekend we painted over the purple color and transformed it into a light grey. We also got the grey on super clearance at Home Depot. It was a color that someone made and didn't like so it was in their clearance bin. The great thing about it was that it was a high quality paint called <span id="goog_717385674"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Behr Premium Plus Ultra</a>&nbsp;its one of those primer and paint all in one cans. I must say&nbsp;I was very impressed with this product. It went on very well! The first time we painted it we used the cheap Olympic paint and barely got by with one can and we really&nbsp;needed two gallon cans! On the Behr product we only&nbsp;used about half of a gallon can and only needed one coat! The other awesome thing is since we got it on clearance we got it for 35% off! So around $21. That made me very happy. Since the color was a made up light grey color, we don't know what its called....but I have decided to name it the "Dragon Slayer" Yes,&nbsp;I know&nbsp;I am a nerd! Anyways here is our bedroom now!!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SCivXRjhKqQ/T9n_Ca5-yGI/AAAAAAAAAvk/urSdFwhScDo/s1600/June+9,+2012+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SCivXRjhKqQ/T9n_Ca5-yGI/AAAAAAAAAvk/urSdFwhScDo/s640/June+9,+2012+010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kW4l4LHTIbw/T9n-3vozPFI/AAAAAAAAAvU/453HQSZmPDQ/s1600/June+9%252C+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kW4l4LHTIbw/T9n-3vozPFI/AAAAAAAAAvU/453HQSZmPDQ/s640/June+9%252C+2012+012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xZuyk8Hjc38/T9n-wkPOOfI/AAAAAAAAAvM/ov9hrdPv1X8/s1600/June+9%252C+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xZuyk8Hjc38/T9n-wkPOOfI/AAAAAAAAAvM/ov9hrdPv1X8/s640/June+9%252C+2012+011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4UtTL4fhlDQ/T9n-6HxrTDI/AAAAAAAAAvc/VrMP2xoqRyU/s1600/June+9%252C+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4UtTL4fhlDQ/T9n-6HxrTDI/AAAAAAAAAvc/VrMP2xoqRyU/s640/June+9%252C+2012+014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We really do like this color so much more. Its very calming and the best thing is that it feels more like an adult room now. :)﻿</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-86591487926872077452012-06-05T09:45:00.000-07:002012-06-15T08:28:41.561-07:00I'm Corky and you know it!<br /><h2> <span style="color: black;">Our new wine cork wall art! </span></h2><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXEgxfY6TiU/T84rqa9XiUI/AAAAAAAAAuw/JPsknH-eR1c/s1600/0511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="376" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXEgxfY6TiU/T84rqa9XiUI/AAAAAAAAAuw/JPsknH-eR1c/s640/0511.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />I am so excited about this quick two day project we just did! I have been seeing all sorts of fun things to make out of your&nbsp;old wine corks all over my favorite site <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a>&nbsp;and since we are great lovers of the Vino and have been good about saving our corks over the last couple of years, I decided we MUST make one of these! So after counting up all of our saved corks...we only had about 150! We needed a lot more so I went out to our wine loving family and asked for donations of corks :) After a few months of hunting and gathering we compiled almost 1,000 corks and it was time to start in on the project!<br /><br />At first our plan was to do a heart out of wine corks but we really needed a larger&nbsp;piece above our TV and it needed to be longer and&nbsp;panoramic. So my clever husband came up with the idea of doing a wine bottle on laying its side! So Sunday night we started in on making the frame. The previous homeowner left us a nice piece of thin particle board that ended up working wonderfully&nbsp;for the back of the frame. We then&nbsp;started in on&nbsp;building the frame&nbsp;and&nbsp;went to Home Depot and bought an 8ft&nbsp;piece of primed MDF moulding for around $5! We went back to the house and Terry quickly built a frame out of it. The next day we applied a few coats of black spray paint. I wanted the corks to pop on the frame and thought the black would look very nice as well as match everything else in our house. I didn't get any shots of us building the actual frame- sorry...but below is finished&nbsp;frame spray painted. I believe the size of the frame was about 4ft by 2ft. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y4rMobX6t8/T84hfJljEGI/AAAAAAAAAtg/o-qXxEyByVY/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Y4rMobX6t8/T84hfJljEGI/AAAAAAAAAtg/o-qXxEyByVY/s640/036.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Here is our massive collection of corks! It doesn't look like a lot but their are around a thousand corks in there!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwCiYqUCey0/T84hcmNYV5I/AAAAAAAAAtY/9nIvvw67geg/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwCiYqUCey0/T84hcmNYV5I/AAAAAAAAAtY/9nIvvw67geg/s640/035.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then the hot gluing fun began! I also decided&nbsp;while doing this&nbsp;project, that&nbsp;I LOVE hot gluing! Getting the corks just right and lining them up took a little bit of shuffling&nbsp;around in the beginning but after&nbsp;I got them just right I started gluing away!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oL7w10CjkLw/T84o6a0FOdI/AAAAAAAAAtw/ys5REG2bbDI/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oL7w10CjkLw/T84o6a0FOdI/AAAAAAAAAtw/ys5REG2bbDI/s640/037.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />For the outline I decided that I wanted them all to lay flat. That way you can see all the different wineries and adds a bit more depth to the piece.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0gSgaT4kfYU/T84o8dETDoI/AAAAAAAAAt4/JTORLJOib9A/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0gSgaT4kfYU/T84o8dETDoI/AAAAAAAAAt4/JTORLJOib9A/s640/038.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Filling in the wine bottle:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DvD_o5fzYg/T84o-P4WiqI/AAAAAAAAAuA/_2ooVJLmUIo/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DvD_o5fzYg/T84o-P4WiqI/AAAAAAAAAuA/_2ooVJLmUIo/s640/040.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />and here is&nbsp;the finished project!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TIPikgHkeE/T84o_9cwdTI/AAAAAAAAAuI/xe7my_Ena6o/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TIPikgHkeE/T84o_9cwdTI/AAAAAAAAAuI/xe7my_Ena6o/s640/041.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />We quickly hung it up in our living room and sat back and enjoyed a nice glass of wine while admiring our new piece of art! That cost us less&nbsp;around $5 (not counting all the bottles of wine we have consumed over the last few years ;) )&nbsp;We are just in love with this piece and how it finishes off our family room! The red in the wine bottle brings the whole room together!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-stTptBotQvc/T84qaQxKTWI/AAAAAAAAAuU/unMssk8uLcc/s1600/054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="392" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-stTptBotQvc/T84qaQxKTWI/AAAAAAAAAuU/unMssk8uLcc/s640/054.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />This was by far one of my favorite projects we have done in our house so far! It was quick, fun project&nbsp;and a lot easier than I thought it would be. A huge thank you to all of you who donated corks! (Leslie, Debbie, Amy, Burt &amp; Nancy). I loved doing this so much that I have thought about making these on the side and selling&nbsp;or giving them away as gifts...I guess we will&nbsp;need to start drinking a bit&nbsp;more wine! ;)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-27924329354082686112012-06-04T11:30:00.002-07:002012-06-15T08:29:03.234-07:00Bold Bright Changes!So I was going to wait to reveal our front door makeover until after our house was painted but I just couldnt. We have been a bit delayed because of the weather but it will hopefully it will be done in the coming weeks! SO while we have been waiting&nbsp;we decided we wanted to paint our front door before they painted the exterior&nbsp;of the&nbsp;house. So over Memorial Day weekend we transformed our front door and entryway from a dark and unwelcoming area to something bright fresh and new! Here is how the process went.<br /><br />Here is how our front door looked before.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7gbwLxa9yw8/T8z15oSzO5I/AAAAAAAAAr8/-quU6u16AHI/s1600/Front+door+before+++.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="401" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7gbwLxa9yw8/T8z15oSzO5I/AAAAAAAAAr8/-quU6u16AHI/s640/Front+door+before+++.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H_AEisdDvPY/T8z0_4woiRI/AAAAAAAAArw/Ob6gjHlWZAw/s1600/Front+Door+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H_AEisdDvPY/T8z0_4woiRI/AAAAAAAAArw/Ob6gjHlWZAw/s320/Front+Door+before.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When we started in on this process we needed to give this door a good sanding. So after we removed the hardware. Terry had the fun job of sanding this sucker. It was just a little dusty!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k-m-LZ3H1to/T8z2YG1MCSI/AAAAAAAAAsE/LdVZsgPRTnE/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k-m-LZ3H1to/T8z2YG1MCSI/AAAAAAAAAsE/LdVZsgPRTnE/s400/Memorial+Day+Weekend+024.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />Then he cleaned off the dust with some paint thinner and rubbed the de-glosser product onto the areas he couldn't get with the sander. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SjmSWQJSFW4/T8z2mFYSdzI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WBz8RT2MGUE/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SjmSWQJSFW4/T8z2mFYSdzI/AAAAAAAAAsM/WBz8RT2MGUE/s400/Memorial+Day+Weekend+057.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After that he caulked around the door waited for the to try over night and started the priming process the next day. I believe that we did 2 coats of the Zinsser oil based stain blocking primer. It was a huge transformation just priming the door white! Brightened it up a lot!&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzmPB_5BLeY/T8z3XGbXbII/AAAAAAAAAsU/R4VFv42pgVA/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PzmPB_5BLeY/T8z3XGbXbII/AAAAAAAAAsU/R4VFv42pgVA/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+064.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We decided to paint our front door a light yellow color. I know some of you will absolutely hate it but we absolutely love it! We originally wanted to paint the door a red color but everyone is doing that nowdays. Don't get us wrong&nbsp;we love a good red door but we wanted to be different. We feel like our entryway is kind of dark to begin with and what better way to brighten it up than with a bright cheery yellow!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So here is how the door looks now! Please <strong>ignore</strong> the over painting and the missing shutters. Again we are painting the house so this will disappear. The house will soon be painted a dark blue with a white trim! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sK39MUNpmYc/T8z4dGm8TII/AAAAAAAAAsg/F7pGSxW7IBU/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sK39MUNpmYc/T8z4dGm8TII/AAAAAAAAAsg/F7pGSxW7IBU/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+087.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oySHVVyl-Sw/T8z4gurGKHI/AAAAAAAAAso/nYs8jbwEmFQ/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oySHVVyl-Sw/T8z4gurGKHI/AAAAAAAAAso/nYs8jbwEmFQ/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+088.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Front door before and after photos:﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AO8VZlov0u0/T8z8DDVXDCI/AAAAAAAAAtE/EhfzGmkGeBw/s1600/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="418" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AO8VZlov0u0/T8z8DDVXDCI/AAAAAAAAAtE/EhfzGmkGeBw/s640/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9m-G5vl15Fk/T8z8B6LNWHI/AAAAAAAAAs8/DWZ0Pi7i4sU/s1600/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9m-G5vl15Fk/T8z8B6LNWHI/AAAAAAAAAs8/DWZ0Pi7i4sU/s640/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+2.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAXjl_WF26I/T8z8Af1PdgI/AAAAAAAAAs0/e1jI13QwbF0/s1600/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KAXjl_WF26I/T8z8Af1PdgI/AAAAAAAAAs0/e1jI13QwbF0/s640/Exterior+Front+Door+Before+and+After+1.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">So stay tuned in the coming weeks for photos of our newly painted house as well as&nbsp;a few&nbsp;updates to the exterior that will&nbsp;make our home look&nbsp;much nicer too. &nbsp;We are just so excited!﻿</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-37773189803187771972012-05-29T11:09:00.001-07:002012-06-15T08:29:34.865-07:00Laundry Room Make Over...so fresh so cleanWe started in on the laundry room over the long holiday weekend and transformed it into a nice new clean space. We had left over kitchen paint and decided to paint it the same yellow. It really did brighten up the whole space. Terry also decided that he wanted to paint the cabinets in there white to match the rest of the house and I am glad that we did too because it really does make it look much nicer and cleaner. <br /><br /><strong>Here is how our laundry room looked before: </strong><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wb2xBxem7UE/T8UPGDjXF3I/AAAAAAAAAq8/AVsy2AZkyvg/s1600/May+1,+2012+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wb2xBxem7UE/T8UPGDjXF3I/AAAAAAAAAq8/AVsy2AZkyvg/s640/May+1,+2012+031.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RQXnezgT_DM/T8UPIZ9WUZI/AAAAAAAAArE/ZE4QfSJtGUM/s1600/May+1,+2012+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RQXnezgT_DM/T8UPIZ9WUZI/AAAAAAAAArE/ZE4QfSJtGUM/s640/May+1,+2012+033.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;The best part of the whole weekend was that we decided to get some brand new front loading washer and dryers!!!! I never have owned new nice washer and dryers before and these suckers are huge too! The washer is 4.5 cubic feet and the dryer is 8 cubic feet! We put in all of our whites and darks and still had a TON of room for more clothes. The washer and dryer are so quiet compared to the older set we got with the house! Plus when you take the&nbsp;clothes out of the washer they are practically dry already&nbsp;so you only have to dry them for like 30 minutes. I just really do love them!&nbsp;I could not be more happier! <br /><br /><strong>And here is our laundry room now:</strong><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRdSYxG6nMA/T8UPtpFv4kI/AAAAAAAAArM/85SEBqjkjyo/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRdSYxG6nMA/T8UPtpFv4kI/AAAAAAAAArM/85SEBqjkjyo/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+078.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zYnznFr87cU/T8UPxHD5fpI/AAAAAAAAArU/mJxNmzNvgfA/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zYnznFr87cU/T8UPxHD5fpI/AAAAAAAAArU/mJxNmzNvgfA/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+080.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_ShVN_34Sk/T8UP9U1q3VI/AAAAAAAAArc/VwwS9cX8ago/s1600/Memorial+Day+Weekend+083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_ShVN_34Sk/T8UP9U1q3VI/AAAAAAAAArc/VwwS9cX8ago/s640/Memorial+Day+Weekend+083.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-32871079318684441652012-05-21T13:11:00.000-07:002012-06-15T08:29:59.554-07:00The Big Kitchen Reveal!!!!OK all! The kitchen is FINALLY complete! Oh my goodness this was the biggest project and the worst project but I am SO glad its completed. Surprisingly it&nbsp;only took&nbsp;about one week start to finish but&nbsp;it was because I took&nbsp;2 days of vacation in the middle of the week&nbsp;and we worked pretty much non stop on them. One good thing is that when we started working on them the temps were in the 80's which helped significantly in drying the paint quickly...almost too quickly on some days! However was not fun painting the cabinet backs inside the house with oil based primer. I was to the point of picking up the phone and hiring someone to finish it for us...but after we got through the dreaded oil based primer things went much smoother! So without further adieu here are the photos. I have been told to include more before, in process and after photos so here you go.<br /><br /><strong>Here is what our kitchen looked like before:</strong><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Midj3Qf3BK8/T7qSY7z8rLI/AAAAAAAAAnE/IOBZSzegZaU/s1600/May+1,+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Midj3Qf3BK8/T7qSY7z8rLI/AAAAAAAAAnE/IOBZSzegZaU/s640/May+1,+2012+011.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-khGNL3SPsLQ/T7qSdpP-8eI/AAAAAAAAAnM/y4OiSqBXZSg/s1600/May+1,+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-khGNL3SPsLQ/T7qSdpP-8eI/AAAAAAAAAnM/y4OiSqBXZSg/s640/May+1,+2012+012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SanOuYa5e5A/T7qSixqHMJI/AAAAAAAAAnU/exEZsTCVVeU/s1600/May+1,+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SanOuYa5e5A/T7qSixqHMJI/AAAAAAAAAnU/exEZsTCVVeU/s640/May+1,+2012+013.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6AjVJNhMWcg/T7qSl_5tWdI/AAAAAAAAAnc/iow0D4EdHAo/s1600/May+1,+2012+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6AjVJNhMWcg/T7qSl_5tWdI/AAAAAAAAAnc/iow0D4EdHAo/s640/May+1,+2012+018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We washed everything with TSP and then used the stripper/glosser product on them all.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiRWXLvDGiE/T7qTIMckLvI/AAAAAAAAAnk/_bbRFgxz7Oc/s1600/May+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiRWXLvDGiE/T7qTIMckLvI/AAAAAAAAAnk/_bbRFgxz7Oc/s640/May+2012+006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5cNHm-HtzQo/T7qTLsKClxI/AAAAAAAAAns/AxWgYqm8Fj4/s1600/May+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5cNHm-HtzQo/T7qTLsKClxI/AAAAAAAAAns/AxWgYqm8Fj4/s640/May+2012+007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hrI6w832EiA/T7qTbwbyEwI/AAAAAAAAAoE/PDMejkZedgM/s1600/May+2012+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hrI6w832EiA/T7qTbwbyEwI/AAAAAAAAAoE/PDMejkZedgM/s640/May+2012+009.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aBA8jditk58/T7qTZVs7deI/AAAAAAAAAn8/lXCGR6GngO0/s1600/May+2012+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aBA8jditk58/T7qTZVs7deI/AAAAAAAAAn8/lXCGR6GngO0/s640/May+2012+008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here is my one hoarder shot after taking everything out of our drawers. It drove me nutzo to have this mess on my dining room table for a week. Don't understand how anyone could live with a mess like this always!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pK09w5HBpqE/T7qT9M-zkaI/AAAAAAAAAoM/hd4Sv7EoMKw/s1600/May+2012+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pK09w5HBpqE/T7qT9M-zkaI/AAAAAAAAAoM/hd4Sv7EoMKw/s640/May+2012+010.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We pulled out the cars and brought all of the doors and drawers into our garage (<strong>33</strong> total!)﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fbAVkRl42I0/T7qUUgIEZ1I/AAAAAAAAAoU/39CglqpqnhI/s1600/May+2012+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fbAVkRl42I0/T7qUUgIEZ1I/AAAAAAAAAoU/39CglqpqnhI/s640/May+2012+011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />This is after we applied the nasty smelling oil based primer! Looks so much better already!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9lq6y7Gl9k/T7qUvGbPh0I/AAAAAAAAAoc/wkr4V1HhcBw/s1600/May+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9lq6y7Gl9k/T7qUvGbPh0I/AAAAAAAAAoc/wkr4V1HhcBw/s640/May+2012+013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whPllEZUAhs/T7qUxrFdqSI/AAAAAAAAAok/k1sK4Motxpw/s1600/May+2012+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whPllEZUAhs/T7qUxrFdqSI/AAAAAAAAAok/k1sK4Motxpw/s640/May+2012+014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ddMygOHFo_4/T7qU1MehBZI/AAAAAAAAAos/KUVluUgedW0/s1600/May+2012+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ddMygOHFo_4/T7qU1MehBZI/AAAAAAAAAos/KUVluUgedW0/s640/May+2012+016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here is how the kitchen cabinets look now. I ended up finding some pulls in a contractor box set which was 10 pulls for $15.97. So it came out to be around $1.59 each. Not too bad since most of them were going for $3-4 each. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tzqb4NHGdN0/T7qWehYBqKI/AAAAAAAAAo0/zBRsiJ3d0t4/s1600/May+2012+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tzqb4NHGdN0/T7qWehYBqKI/AAAAAAAAAo0/zBRsiJ3d0t4/s640/May+2012+024.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bd9Qzc3Wk2s/T7qWiQLjd2I/AAAAAAAAAo8/MVLYG9PZuPE/s1600/May+2012+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bd9Qzc3Wk2s/T7qWiQLjd2I/AAAAAAAAAo8/MVLYG9PZuPE/s640/May+2012+028.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GaZe79SLIi4/T7qWkrBoT5I/AAAAAAAAApE/7mVmxzBXpCc/s1600/May+2012+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GaZe79SLIi4/T7qWkrBoT5I/AAAAAAAAApE/7mVmxzBXpCc/s640/May+2012+027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />After my handy hubby added all the pulls to the cabinets and drawers I started the process of painting the walls a light yellow to finish it all off. <br /><div align="center"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFrhAaT_7YE/T7qXR4AsIaI/AAAAAAAAApM/gi5tkkjQMZI/s1600/May+2012+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFrhAaT_7YE/T7qXR4AsIaI/AAAAAAAAApM/gi5tkkjQMZI/s640/May+2012+036.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKj-N4va69c/T7qXVWKxL8I/AAAAAAAAApU/P9Un6KGj6pc/s1600/May+2012+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKj-N4va69c/T7qXVWKxL8I/AAAAAAAAApU/P9Un6KGj6pc/s640/May+2012+037.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4TEwCRm2RA/T7qXcmD2OYI/AAAAAAAAApc/dyyCBCKFTkI/s1600/May+2012+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4TEwCRm2RA/T7qXcmD2OYI/AAAAAAAAApc/dyyCBCKFTkI/s640/May+2012+038.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vv9eGVJneFk/T7qXhReRqqI/AAAAAAAAApk/0MrnEorB5RY/s1600/May+2012+039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vv9eGVJneFk/T7qXhReRqqI/AAAAAAAAApk/0MrnEorB5RY/s640/May+2012+039.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzSUYINREu8/T7qXkcNuRII/AAAAAAAAAps/slg3Prl-boo/s1600/May+2012+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzSUYINREu8/T7qXkcNuRII/AAAAAAAAAps/slg3Prl-boo/s640/May+2012+041.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzd79mqj5AU/T7qXm37o83I/AAAAAAAAAp0/IeaxrkbWRl8/s1600/May+2012+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzd79mqj5AU/T7qXm37o83I/AAAAAAAAAp0/IeaxrkbWRl8/s640/May+2012+042.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kCny9rZ-OCI/T7qXpDiCBwI/AAAAAAAAAp8/ep6u3IY89Fw/s1600/May+2012+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kCny9rZ-OCI/T7qXpDiCBwI/AAAAAAAAAp8/ep6u3IY89Fw/s640/May+2012+045.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And now for my usual Before and After photos. I did a lot more this time so you could really see the change :) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HjAI-I89msc/T7qd3OmiqjI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/dzUtH2Za6Bo/s1600/Kitchen+Before+and+after+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HjAI-I89msc/T7qd3OmiqjI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/dzUtH2Za6Bo/s640/Kitchen+Before+and+after+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="border: currentColor;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q18NQHtADuA/T7qd1VoQOII/AAAAAAAAAqI/t1jezYmHivk/s1600/Kitchen+Before+and+after+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q18NQHtADuA/T7qd1VoQOII/AAAAAAAAAqI/t1jezYmHivk/s640/Kitchen+Before+and+after+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JDJubgPzvwQ/T7qd5iKKflI/AAAAAAAAAqY/kkTPeFsiOUA/s1600/Kitchen+Before+and+after+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JDJubgPzvwQ/T7qd5iKKflI/AAAAAAAAAqY/kkTPeFsiOUA/s640/Kitchen+Before+and+after+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NVwg1wlCTWo/T7qd7SlKRAI/AAAAAAAAAqg/P9N1jNuBoSE/s1600/Kitchen+Before+and+after+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" kba="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NVwg1wlCTWo/T7qd7SlKRAI/AAAAAAAAAqg/P9N1jNuBoSE/s640/Kitchen+Before+and+after+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u7rlTORxMgQ/T7qd8oMT3OI/AAAAAAAAAqo/YlB_8CfqVmk/s1600/Kitchen+Before+and+after+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u7rlTORxMgQ/T7qd8oMT3OI/AAAAAAAAAqo/YlB_8CfqVmk/s640/Kitchen+Before+and+after+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We also ended up purchasing a NEW dishwasher over the weekend too since our old one sounded like a jet engine while running and leaked water all over or floor every time we ran it! We ended up getting a super duper quiet one and we love that the buttons are hidden. Looks so much more smooth and seamless in your kitchen that way. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In case you didn't see it in the million photos I have on this post ;) Here is our old dishwasher and our new one!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfqhi0h85s0/T7qd9TsUpcI/AAAAAAAAAqw/dql6Z3wl7CA/s1600/Dishwasher+old+and+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfqhi0h85s0/T7qd9TsUpcI/AAAAAAAAAqw/dql6Z3wl7CA/s640/Dishwasher+old+and+new.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border: currentColor; text-align: center;"></div>You have no idea how good it feels to have this project done and off our todo list. We just love the new look in our kitchen. It definitely got a face lift and for the cost of a few cans of paint and some cabinet pulls it was well worth it! I think this project ended up costing us just around $130.00! When you think about the cost it would be to remodel your entire kitchen it would be many thousand dollars. I think we will stick with this option!!&nbsp; <br /><div align="left"><div style="border: currentColor;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-45654286110629717032012-05-21T07:58:00.000-07:002012-05-21T13:13:18.833-07:00May Thrifty Finds!This month&nbsp;I ended up&nbsp;going to the local Goodwill with my friend Kacy @ <a href="http://artsycraftycool.blogspot.com/">Artsy Crafty Cool</a>&nbsp;we were in search of super thrifty fun finds and we both were in luck and ended up finding some really cute things for our homes! I was in search of something to add to our entryway to add a pop of color! I ended up finding this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23Yf3RuGzG8/T7pVqATi7CI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/_LPu2NcaJfM/s1600/May+2012+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23Yf3RuGzG8/T7pVqATi7CI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/_LPu2NcaJfM/s400/May+2012+002.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>Since my name is not "Julie" and I was not a fan of the hand painted artwork I went to our local Lowe's and picked out a nice Teal-ish spray paint that I thought would match the living room colors....and 30 minutes later this is what I transformed it into:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5iZnt9X-no/T7pVtX_1KzI/AAAAAAAAAmY/8soNpja0E8w/s1600/May+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5iZnt9X-no/T7pVtX_1KzI/AAAAAAAAAmY/8soNpja0E8w/s400/May+2012+004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here it is now in our entry way. It will be our cute little umbrella holder because we only get about 10 days a year in Seattle without rain ;) Joking....but it sure does rain a lot here.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAFCuuwNW6g/T7pWhzLBqLI/AAAAAAAAAmg/PGwSHZCZtug/s1600/May+2012+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kba="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAFCuuwNW6g/T7pWhzLBqLI/AAAAAAAAAmg/PGwSHZCZtug/s400/May+2012+022.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nL8N4mKWrVw/T7pWki5JFoI/AAAAAAAAAmo/aw0t0phn-8o/s1600/May+2012+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nL8N4mKWrVw/T7pWki5JFoI/AAAAAAAAAmo/aw0t0phn-8o/s640/May+2012+023.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The other thing that&nbsp;I picked up was these cute little candelabras for our bedroom. I just love! Especially the little sparkly gems on them.&nbsp;I added&nbsp;some candles&nbsp;I had left over from our wedding 3 years ago and voila! Just&nbsp;them and they do look so wonderful! <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VkiUJ9Ihe_I/T7pXMWdnHBI/AAAAAAAAAmw/WE8Su162oBA/s1600/May+2012+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VkiUJ9Ihe_I/T7pXMWdnHBI/AAAAAAAAAmw/WE8Su162oBA/s400/May+2012+033.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ue3qg2yAdk/T7pXOXEJ0-I/AAAAAAAAAm4/033ZNTNqJSA/s1600/May+2012+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" kba="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ue3qg2yAdk/T7pXOXEJ0-I/AAAAAAAAAm4/033ZNTNqJSA/s400/May+2012+032.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-77691187103597583692012-05-10T11:12:00.003-07:002012-05-10T11:12:32.905-07:00Photos from last weekendIf you don't know one of my side hobbies is photography. When I was younger I had dreams of becoming a professional landscape photographer and traveling the world with some huge magazine like National Geographic...but after I found out you really have to be super good to make a lot of money...I decided&nbsp;I would just do it as a fun side hobby. So everywhere we go I am usually dragging along my baby (Canon Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR)&nbsp;Over the years&nbsp;I have acquired a few lenses and filters but most of my shots are just taken with&nbsp;the normal lens (18-50mm). <br /><br />So with that said every now and then you will find some photos that I have taken that I will add onto here. These shots were taken on the way to Terry's parents family farm last weekend out in a small town in Southeast Washington called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomeroy,_Washington">Pomeroy</a>.&nbsp;We went over to help work the calves which included giving them a few shots, a tattoo in their ear, weighing them, spraying them for flies and branding them! Yes indeed I did end up branding a calf. I think&nbsp;I was more scared than the calf was but&nbsp;I did it and Terry was proud! <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oUycOUJXSWE/T6wCY8y66TI/AAAAAAAAAk0/sreGuVd68Bg/s1600/5-6-12+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oUycOUJXSWE/T6wCY8y66TI/AAAAAAAAAk0/sreGuVd68Bg/s640/5-6-12+020.jpg" width="464" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NN8SDWpsjVM/T6wCaoncmzI/AAAAAAAAAk8/T05GG2cLhJA/s1600/5-6-12+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NN8SDWpsjVM/T6wCaoncmzI/AAAAAAAAAk8/T05GG2cLhJA/s640/5-6-12+030.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zzByAVu0QJ8/T6wCWEtb3oI/AAAAAAAAAks/c3Incmd-vp8/s1600/5-6-12+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zzByAVu0QJ8/T6wCWEtb3oI/AAAAAAAAAks/c3Incmd-vp8/s640/5-6-12+011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aA10LvyF--E/T6wCistmG8I/AAAAAAAAAlU/KmDXNuFVTTQ/s1600/5-6-12+078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aA10LvyF--E/T6wCistmG8I/AAAAAAAAAlU/KmDXNuFVTTQ/s640/5-6-12+078.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9LeP1tkhqA/T6wCgSQ6eeI/AAAAAAAAAlM/g0SIPga2WOY/s1600/5-6-12+055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9LeP1tkhqA/T6wCgSQ6eeI/AAAAAAAAAlM/g0SIPga2WOY/s640/5-6-12+055.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjyqSMyMtYM/T6wCdfHxD1I/AAAAAAAAAlE/C3ejSyI0Wz0/s1600/5-6-12+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjyqSMyMtYM/T6wCdfHxD1I/AAAAAAAAAlE/C3ejSyI0Wz0/s640/5-6-12+051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPECjoJaGXY/T6wCnM3TH3I/AAAAAAAAAlk/4siaFQZpBVk/s1600/5-6-12+110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPECjoJaGXY/T6wCnM3TH3I/AAAAAAAAAlk/4siaFQZpBVk/s640/5-6-12+110.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X9uaFGHLCPI/T6wCkxEzTrI/AAAAAAAAAlc/ZCsa9jTDZ08/s1600/5-6-12+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X9uaFGHLCPI/T6wCkxEzTrI/AAAAAAAAAlc/ZCsa9jTDZ08/s640/5-6-12+092.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Sorry the blog has been so slow this week. We are gearing up for starting a MAJOR kitchen over hall this weekend. We saved one of our biggest projects for last :)&nbsp;Can't wait to get that one over with!<br /><br />Finally, here are a few shots on how the yard is coming along. The front is looking wonderful with so many more things are popping up and blooming.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kzjEcrlaUUo/T6wCpYPdKSI/AAAAAAAAAls/MbHnQh-ZQJE/s1600/5-6-12+116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kzjEcrlaUUo/T6wCpYPdKSI/AAAAAAAAAls/MbHnQh-ZQJE/s640/5-6-12+116.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxBN4DsEuf0/T6wCrKbkGiI/AAAAAAAAAl0/vZAOcAlJXCY/s1600/5-6-12+121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxBN4DsEuf0/T6wCrKbkGiI/AAAAAAAAAl0/vZAOcAlJXCY/s640/5-6-12+121.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KZruaqdyIUw/T6wCuLrR19I/AAAAAAAAAl8/xG4t4qAPMvk/s1600/5-6-12+123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KZruaqdyIUw/T6wCuLrR19I/AAAAAAAAAl8/xG4t4qAPMvk/s640/5-6-12+123.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>We did also hire someone to paint the house. We are painting a few swatches on the back side this weekend to decide on the official blue colors. So excited to have the house painted. Its going to look completely different!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-55643104875756454712012-05-02T08:22:00.001-07:002012-05-02T08:22:01.701-07:00How to repaint the inside of your front door and turn it from dull to delightful!The final project we started last Sunday and completed earlier this week was the transformation of our front door. It was just so dark before and was not matching the rest of our newly painted interior so&nbsp;I was itching to get this project done and off our paint list. Which by the way is only down to just&nbsp;<strong>3</strong> more projects! We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel folks and it feels wonderful! Anyways,&nbsp;here is the process we went through in painting the front door.<br /><br />Here is what the door looked like before we started. Its a beautiful door, don't get me wrong...it just doesn't match the rest of the inside of the house and needed to be painted! The door was cleaned first with the TSP product&nbsp;I&nbsp;noted in earlier posts. We use this product to clean and de-grime everything before we slap some paint on it.﻿<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXEMQt1xWZA/T6FDooVvjnI/AAAAAAAAAi0/sAt3prDM2tM/s1600/IMG_3076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXEMQt1xWZA/T6FDooVvjnI/AAAAAAAAAi0/sAt3prDM2tM/s400/IMG_3076.JPG" width="270" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRpX1ucgSXk/T6FDsdSxFvI/AAAAAAAAAi8/nu6TPrvNis4/s1600/IMG_3077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RRpX1ucgSXk/T6FDsdSxFvI/AAAAAAAAAi8/nu6TPrvNis4/s400/IMG_3077.JPG" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then this time around since the front door had a thicker varnish on it than the other items we have painted in our house. We wanted to get our primer to really bond and stick to the door. So we found this product called <a href="http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=32&amp;prodid=91">Klean-Strip</a> at our local Ace Hardware that you wipe on and it sands and de-gloss all at once. Highly recommend following the directions on the back of the bottle and wearing protective gloves/eye wear. You might also want to open a door or window as it is quite smelly!﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyn7uywuEHc/T6FF1IboZVI/AAAAAAAAAjM/_pvAMLUJoQ0/s1600/IMG_3078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyn7uywuEHc/T6FF1IboZVI/AAAAAAAAAjM/_pvAMLUJoQ0/s320/IMG_3078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also get some Frog Tape and tape off around everything you that you don't want stripped or painted. We have been cheap on our tape for most of our painting projects and we wish we would of just spent the extra money and purchased the green Frog Tape. This stuff is well worth the extra money. It sticks so much better than the blue painters tape and you get less bleeds too. I have spent many hours with my little craft paint brush touching up all the walls and molding that had bled through on the blue tape. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A1rogxGYgQ/T6FGgYrlJtI/AAAAAAAAAjU/k36tZbmJfRo/s1600/IMG_3079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A1rogxGYgQ/T6FGgYrlJtI/AAAAAAAAAjU/k36tZbmJfRo/s400/IMG_3079.JPG" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the Klean-Strip product dries (10 mins) you can start your priming process and start priming away. One thing you have to remember is to put on a good thick coat. That way you don't have to end up doing&nbsp;two coats of primer and&nbsp;two coats of paint. One of the major pains about this project was I had to sit for an hour or so after I applied&nbsp;each coat and watch for and wipe off all the drips on the door. Mostly because&nbsp;left the door on while we painted and all detailed squares in the door like to catch&nbsp;the excess paint then slowly drip down the door.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFEhlCZ8LgQ/T6FHJcCFxiI/AAAAAAAAAjc/xro3v1n10Is/s1600/IMG_3080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFEhlCZ8LgQ/T6FHJcCFxiI/AAAAAAAAAjc/xro3v1n10Is/s400/IMG_3080.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since the primer only takes about 30 minutes to dry or a few hours if you do a thick coat like we did you can start&nbsp;painting the same day. The paint we used is the same Ace Hardware Cabinet, Door and Trim Simi-Gloss that we have used through out the house. It really does go a long way too. I think we have used this same can for the last&nbsp;seven or so&nbsp;projects. It really does go a long way for $30 some dollars. The only thing is&nbsp;you must wait a day before coats, like&nbsp;I have mentioned in previous posts. Last night the paint was all dry and I was so excited to pull of the tape and look at our new front door! Here are the photos of our finished door!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30y7XNzyxD8/T6FJ4cZ88-I/AAAAAAAAAjo/tw2h0i_O1dU/s1600/May+1,+2012+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-30y7XNzyxD8/T6FJ4cZ88-I/AAAAAAAAAjo/tw2h0i_O1dU/s640/May+1,+2012+002.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0iaBasWRKg/T6FJ7UYFHoI/AAAAAAAAAjw/M_8wHtiHeRc/s1600/May+1,+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0iaBasWRKg/T6FJ7UYFHoI/AAAAAAAAAjw/M_8wHtiHeRc/s640/May+1,+2012+004.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We are so excited to have this door finished it officially completes the <strong>all</strong> of the painting in the front side of our house (entry, living &amp; dining room) It looks so fresh and clean and&nbsp;it also feels&nbsp;much bigger with the door white and bright! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are a few shots of the finished front part of our house! Eventually we will&nbsp;add a few more knick-knacks and a few framed photos and we will be set!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jA_THcp4WdA/T6FK4q-xJII/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0rhlMjiP9ic/s1600/May+1,+2012+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jA_THcp4WdA/T6FK4q-xJII/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0rhlMjiP9ic/s640/May+1,+2012+006.JPG" width="456" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAgOayMB500/T6FKDhVhfsI/AAAAAAAAAkI/JDTgncs7grU/s1600/May+1%252C+2012+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAgOayMB500/T6FKDhVhfsI/AAAAAAAAAkI/JDTgncs7grU/s640/May+1%252C+2012+009.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also have to toss in my normal side by side compairison&nbsp;shots of the before and after! The stained glass window in the door has a bit of pink it it and we really noticed it before we painted the door and now we hardly notice it at all. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wI4ZHR9PDuc/T6FNIC2sjHI/AAAAAAAAAkY/NqUNoFboAoo/s1600/Front+Door+Before+and+After+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wI4ZHR9PDuc/T6FNIC2sjHI/AAAAAAAAAkY/NqUNoFboAoo/s640/Front+Door+Before+and+After+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We just think that this quick project really did improve our entry way so much more. I just cant get over how much bigger and brighter it all is. So delighted!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k-g4_9_SATc/T6FOQu_lfII/AAAAAAAAAkg/EPcqXoqfaS0/s1600/Front+Door+Before+and+After+2.jpg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="486" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k-g4_9_SATc/T6FOQu_lfII/AAAAAAAAAkg/EPcqXoqfaS0/s640/Front+Door+Before+and+After+2.jpg.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-41813691742987166352012-05-01T08:08:00.000-07:002012-05-01T08:08:27.135-07:00Entryway Table Make Over!Here is one of the many side projects we were working on this past weekend. I have been wanting to paint this table that we use in our entryway&nbsp;and have it match everything else in our formal&nbsp;living/dining room area. Here is a shot of the table before&nbsp;I started priming and painting:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O8fGSemepuk/T5_6JMCaJWI/AAAAAAAAAh8/kUGJhv_8IQc/s1600/IMG_3072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O8fGSemepuk/T5_6JMCaJWI/AAAAAAAAAh8/kUGJhv_8IQc/s400/IMG_3072.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />And here is how it looks now! It now matches all of the molding and other furniture in our living room! Very happy with this quick little make! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MD459Tc_aUA/T5_6-l3S33I/AAAAAAAAAiE/NxLMkpiiw-U/s1600/4-30-12+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MD459Tc_aUA/T5_6-l3S33I/AAAAAAAAAiE/NxLMkpiiw-U/s640/4-30-12+005.JPG" width="386" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and here are the side by side shots of the before and after! I love it so!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OBBLn8VodWc/T5_7IhmIRTI/AAAAAAAAAiM/G-Nvq_CTyRI/s1600/Side+Table+compairsion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="494" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OBBLn8VodWc/T5_7IhmIRTI/AAAAAAAAAiM/G-Nvq_CTyRI/s640/Side+Table+compairsion.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>This paint project didn't take too long. I started it on Saturday afternoon and it was dried by Monday morning. Just used a bit left over primer and paint that we had in the house and voila!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-6654602989147984512012-04-30T08:42:00.000-07:002012-04-30T08:42:22.645-07:00Guest Bedroom Reveal!We accomplished a TON this last weekend. I took Friday off of work and having that extra day to paint and fix things helped so much. I was able to paint all the molding, trim and closet doors in the guest bedroom and also picked out and painted the walls this great neutral color. I just cant get over how&nbsp;inlove I am with this bedroom now and how&nbsp;wonderful it looks. I find myself going in there and just staring at how lovely it is. It is finished just in time for my parents visit this next week! Here is a shot of how the room looked. You will notice two of our cats. Barley and old Joey- RIP little guy! Look at how DARK it feels in this room. Well the photo was taken at night but still,&nbsp;I just cant believe how much a couple of cans of paint can transform a room and a house!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGV7LEeupmM/T56twj8-gKI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZrRrSG0a76s/s1600/053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGV7LEeupmM/T56twj8-gKI/AAAAAAAAAg4/ZrRrSG0a76s/s400/053.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />And here is how the bedroom looks now!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuxbeVoDmA/T56v_F4BZwI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Vr4HUpX-Q3k/s1600/IMG_3073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIuxbeVoDmA/T56v_F4BZwI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Vr4HUpX-Q3k/s640/IMG_3073.JPG" width="430" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tByTiaokP8/T56wI2sCn2I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Lv1iDpqnD34/s1600/IMG_3075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--tByTiaokP8/T56wI2sCn2I/AAAAAAAAAhw/Lv1iDpqnD34/s640/IMG_3075.JPG" width="428" /></a></div><br />I love love it so much! The color we used on the walls is from Behr called- <a href="http://www.behr.com/colorsmart4/colorsmart/main.jsp">Baja</a>.<br /><br /><br />We also started a few more projects and they are on their last&nbsp;coats of paint as we speak. Should be revealing one tomorrow and the other later on this week. All&nbsp;that&nbsp;I will say is the second&nbsp;reveal&nbsp;is really looking&nbsp;SO amazing and&nbsp;I cant wait to pull the Frog Tape off that sucker and see the final product!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-8369789795248507662012-04-26T11:25:00.000-07:002012-04-26T11:25:24.450-07:00We are ready for a Patio Party!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This past weekend since weather was SO incredible we could not wait any longer and had to go out and buy a patio set to go on our covered porch! We went back and forth on whether or not we wanted a four chair set or a&nbsp;six chair set and boy are we glad that we got the&nbsp;six chair set (the other two&nbsp;chairs are behind me&nbsp;in this photo).&nbsp;It will be great for upcoming parties and bbq's! We have been sitting out there most afternoons and evenings and just enjoying the warm weather!&nbsp;(Well except for the last couple of days). Anyways we just love it and cant wait to have people over!&nbsp; </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bh6JF1XIVoA/T5mOqxKCilI/AAAAAAAAAfI/hO2N3LESe9Q/s1600/4-21-12+026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bh6JF1XIVoA/T5mOqxKCilI/AAAAAAAAAfI/hO2N3LESe9Q/s640/4-21-12+026.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Last weekend we ran into our old neighbors (Paul and Krissi) while we&nbsp;made a quick trip to the&nbsp;old condo on the way to the dog park&nbsp;and they were very generous and gave us some Hens and Chicks and some little green succulents- I think they are called Sedum? When we got home we quickly potted&nbsp;them in&nbsp;a few pots&nbsp;we had and put the rest in our rock wall in the green belt! I so LOVE these little succulents! Thank you Paul and Krissi! You guys are awesome and we miss you!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_phBJ1qnpIo/T5mP15HlxqI/AAAAAAAAAfY/Y3dOtvE5o7A/s1600/4-21-12+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_phBJ1qnpIo/T5mP15HlxqI/AAAAAAAAAfY/Y3dOtvE5o7A/s640/4-21-12+028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">﻿</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally here is a shot of our little Cooper&nbsp;enjoying spending time with us on the deck!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aaZJjq9P_Yo/T5mOtsMiE0I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/hJE25OK0aq0/s1600/4-21-12+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aaZJjq9P_Yo/T5mOtsMiE0I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/hJE25OK0aq0/s640/4-21-12+008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">﻿</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">﻿</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-60434072084310651642012-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:002012-04-25T10:03:16.117-07:00Garden and Rhubarb Madness!This past weekend I had Terry put some fence around our little garden box since our puppy Cooper has been having the best time jumping in the garden box and tearing out all of my veggie starts! The previous owners left us some fence and&nbsp;a few pieces of&nbsp;lattice. So the&nbsp;handy hubby crafted up this fence to keep the Cooper out! Its not the best most glorious fence ever BUT it is doing its job and keeping Cooper out and best of all it was FREE! &nbsp;Please ignore the deteriorating green fence behind these photos! It will be replaced sometime this summer or whenever it falls down.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bFOlFtfFH1I/T5go5J7SvpI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Rc7xSN2SAd4/s1600/4-21-12+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" oda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bFOlFtfFH1I/T5go5J7SvpI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Rc7xSN2SAd4/s400/4-21-12+030.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wVhLDmgs3OU/T5go8Qkcq3I/AAAAAAAAAeY/mdenpWT8FiY/s1600/4-21-12+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wVhLDmgs3OU/T5go8Qkcq3I/AAAAAAAAAeY/mdenpWT8FiY/s400/4-21-12+029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />We were also looking at our rhubarb plat and it was ripe and ready to start the harvesting on that bad boy! It seems like&nbsp;I have always picked rhubarb later on in the summer and was shocked it was ready to go in April and after doing some research online&nbsp;I guess the normal season starts in April and goes well into the summer. Here is our rhubarb before we picked it:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5tgDyZoRkk/T5gqSLOSLEI/AAAAAAAAAeg/uwclhJDF5O0/s1600/4-18-12+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5tgDyZoRkk/T5gqSLOSLEI/AAAAAAAAAeg/uwclhJDF5O0/s400/4-18-12+013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and here is the after! We are hoping that it will continue to grow and produce more. It has a lot of little starts in the middle of it just ready to grow. We are also hoping that the little rhubarb on the left will start to get some more growth!﻿</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s20PXjFIKhA/T5gq6kjeZgI/AAAAAAAAAeo/epL-wcS6mCs/s1600/4-23-12+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s20PXjFIKhA/T5gq6kjeZgI/AAAAAAAAAeo/epL-wcS6mCs/s400/4-23-12+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FL5ZUrA23Zs/T5gq9P2T-RI/AAAAAAAAAew/bWOtYLGBcd8/s1600/4-23-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FL5ZUrA23Zs/T5gq9P2T-RI/AAAAAAAAAew/bWOtYLGBcd8/s400/4-23-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have never had a rhubarb plant produce so much! These are big thick stocks too! After&nbsp;I cut the leaves and ends off,&nbsp;I weighed it and it was almost 5 pounds of rhubarb! We then sliced it in our food processor and I now have <strong>30 CUPS</strong> of rhubarb in the freezer. <strong>So if anyone wants some please let me know!</strong> I have a feeling that we are going to start running out of room in our freezers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We also have this old clothesline cemented in our greenbelt fence line. Terry has wanted to cut it that sucker off at the base since we got the house but&nbsp;I love it and might want to someday hang clothes from it to dry in the summer or something....so he decided that he wanted to "camo paint" it and help blend it into the greenbelt more. So I let him have his fun with spray paint cans and a couple of leaves. Here is the end result...&nbsp;It looks pretty cool. Even though I kind of want the camo design to go down to the base...it would probably get all over the chain link fence too and then we would have to camo paint our chain link fence ;) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K4OMuA7dnTM/T5gtxoFbQ4I/AAAAAAAAAe8/uD65sZYybtQ/s1600/4-21-12+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K4OMuA7dnTM/T5gtxoFbQ4I/AAAAAAAAAe8/uD65sZYybtQ/s400/4-21-12+031.JPG" width="335" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4251512289115796702.post-12257204628815680742012-04-24T08:14:00.001-07:002012-04-24T14:04:00.139-07:00Built-ins are complete!This past weekend we finally finished painting the bar side of our built in cabinets in our family room. They look absolutely great now that they both match! We love the rich brown color and the new pulls! We are so happy to say that the family room is officially done being painted!&nbsp;Here are the before and after photos!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Before:</strong></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RUWXhSTeDPU/T5bBRXtKl9I/AAAAAAAAAdw/aGpw9OQH6LE/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RUWXhSTeDPU/T5bBRXtKl9I/AAAAAAAAAdw/aGpw9OQH6LE/s400/023.JPG" width="302" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"><strong>And After:﻿</strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9a9jB8-fo1o/T5bBa1y3BTI/AAAAAAAAAd4/Wv8YYQvC--M/s1600/4-21-12+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9a9jB8-fo1o/T5bBa1y3BTI/AAAAAAAAAd4/Wv8YYQvC--M/s640/4-21-12+022.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Before!</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qIFbeaXs8OA/T5bCMaV-5TI/AAAAAAAAAeA/H9NYaFWtU1o/s1600/050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" oda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qIFbeaXs8OA/T5bCMaV-5TI/AAAAAAAAAeA/H9NYaFWtU1o/s400/050.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>and AFTER!</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zPkF3rWQXWc/T5bCdb5fAxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/3yzSQSmpNGM/s1600/4-21-12+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" oda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zPkF3rWQXWc/T5bCdb5fAxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/3yzSQSmpNGM/s640/4-21-12+020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Woo hoo! Feels great to get that one off our painting list!﻿ Just started painting the trim and molding in the guest bedroom this week. Stay tunned.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/rachael8728/"><img src="https://a248.e.akamai.net/passets.pinterest.com.s3.amazonaws.com/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a></div>Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18425485871832372641noreply@blogger.com1